Florida’s stone crab season is open through May 1, claws only

Florida’s stone crab harvest is in its open window. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s current recreational page sets state-waters harvest from Oct. 15 through May 1, and closed on May 2. Only claws may be taken, and the minimum claw size is 2 7/8 inches. Claws from egg-bearing crabs are prohibited.

The daily bag is 1 gallon of claws per person or 2 gallons per vessel, whichever is less. Recreational harvesters may use up to five stone crab traps, and they may harvest only from traps registered to them. Anyone 16 or older, including people otherwise exempt from a license, has to complete the no-cost online recreational stone crab trap registration before using traps. Each trap needs the registration number and the owner’s full name and address. Traps are pulled by hand, in daylight, and not with a trap-puller. A vessel rigged with a trap-puller is treated as commercial.

Traps may go in the water 10 days before the season opens, but they may not be tended until the season starts. Spears, grains, grabs, hooks, and similar tools that can puncture, crush, or injure the crab are illegal. For the 2024–25 season and beyond, plastic or wood traps need an unobstructed escape ring 2 3/16 inches across in a vertical exterior wall. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: FWC — Recreational stone crab (current regulations; season Oct. 15–May 1).